Open Doors
by lb714
Summary: Jo opens all the doors Mac has had closed for so long. Will he walk through them? A light-hearted tale of blossoming friendship, and maybe a little bit more.
1. Tell Me About Her

**Chapter 1**

Jo swirled the wine in her glass around in circles for what seemed like the millionth time that night. Glancing up at the man across the table from her, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath through her nose. Opening her eyes again, she saw his inquiring glance – chin tilted downward, eyebrows arched, waiting.

"I just...," she began, not wholly sure how to continue. "I'm just so sorry, Mac."

Mac looked into his glass, consulting the beer inside, wondering if it would give him the proper response. He never could figure out how to respond to "I'm sorry." He knew Jo meant it, but the meaningless platitudes of so many before her left a bad taste in his mouth, even now.

"It's been a long time," he said softly, without looking up.

Jo stared at the top of his head, waiting for more. As she was taking another sip of wine, Mac looked up and made eye contact. He smiled a half smile, his upper lip lifting on just one side. Jo offered one in return.

"Almost 10 years," he continued. "Sometimes it feels like just yesterday; other times it feels like ages ago. I don't know which one is better."

"Does it get easier?" Jo dared to ask.

Mac thought for a moment before explaining, "No. Not easier, but it changes. You go for longer without thinking about it, and then you remember, and it's not as awful. It's a part of you, just like something you always carry – a wallet, a phone, the memory of your wife. They're all the same; you put them in your pocket and don't notice them until you go looking for one or the other."

Jo nodded, then hesitantly asked, "Would you tell me about her?"

"Claire," he breathed. "Claire was amazing. She was so many things that I am not: open, affectionate, spontaneous. She could get me to talk about anything, even when I didn't want to. But she never pushed; she just waited patiently until I started talking, and then the words would just kind of tumble out of my mouth. We shared everything, and I... I was in a bad way after I lost her."

She wanted to reach out and touch him, to hold his hand, to hug him. Something. Something to keep him from slipping away into melancholy, as Lindsay had hinted he'd been prone to do.

"I wish I could have met her. She sounds...," Jo paused. How did Claire sound? "She sounds perfect," Jo finished.

Mac chuckled. "I don't know about perfect. She was feisty, too, and opinionated. When we got into it, we got into it. I mean, watch out."

"I couldn't imagine Mac Taylor with a willowy woman, anyway," Jo laughed.

Mac echoed her laughter before growing serious once more. "You know, in a lot of ways, you remind me of her."

Jo was visibly startled. She reminded Mac of the love of his life? Of the woman whose loss he'd been grieving for almost 10 years now? What sort of parallel universe had she fallen into?

"You look surprised," he observed, taking another sip of his beer.

"I am," Jo whispered, her gaze darting from his.

"Why?" Mac asked, staring intently at her, waiting.

When Jo didn't respond, he repeated the question, putting his glass down on the table. He rested a hand on the table, about halfway across, just short of where Jo's was resting.

"Why, Jo?"

At the sound of her name, she returned her gaze to his. He was looking at her expectantly, waiting for her to explain her surprise. How was she going to explain this one? The thoughts raced around in her head. If he only knew the kind of torture it was for her to hear that she reminded him of his late wife, whom he adored, according to everyone at the lab who had been around when Claire was still alive. It was too much, Jo decided.

"I don't know," Jo shrugged. "It's just not something I expected you to say, I guess."

The answer seemed to satisfy Mac for the time being, and he didn't press the issue. Jo smiled at him, biting the right side of her bottom lip. Mac's eyes were inexplicably drawn to the lip she was chewing on, and he felt an odd stirring in the pit of his stomach.

"Do you want anything else to drink?" he asked.

"No, I'm good," Jo replied. "In fact, I should probably get home soon. Ellie has a soccer match in the morning, so I've gotta get her up bright and early."

Mac nodded, sensing that Jo had more to say.

"Mac," she began. "Listen, I really appreciate you telling me about Claire. I know it isn't really any of my business..."

"Jo, it is your business," he affirmed. "You're my partner, and even more than that, you're my friend. Claire was a big part of my life. Besides, I think she would have liked you."

Jo smiled a soft smile, saying, "Thank you, Mac. That means a lot."

"Well," Mac said, his voice rising from the muted tone in which the previous topic had been discussed. "It looks like we're closing the place down after all. So much for just a quick drink, huh? Should we move on?"

"Oops! I hadn't even noticed," Jo exclaimed, scanning the bar to find they were the only ones left. She made eye contact with the sole bartender, and whispered, "It would seem as though he's ready for us to leave, anyway."

Mac paid, despite Jo's protests, and helped her into her jacket. By Mac's account, it was spring; but Jo said Southern gals wore jackets for anything under 65, and he took her word for it. As the bar door closed behind him, he felt Jo loop her arm through his in an all-too-familiar gesture that simultaneously disarmed him and sent all his senses into overdrive.

"So," she said, turning her head to look at him with a coy smile. "Has there been anyone else?"

It was a question she wouldn't have asked without the background information Lindsay had already provided. Jo had wondered out loud one day in Lindsay's presence if Mac was dating anyone, and Lindsay, craving some good girl talk since Stella's sudden departure, had explained that just a few women had entered Mac's life since Claire's passing. Jo had, of course, inquired about her mystery predecessor, but Lindsay had assured her their relationship had been strictly professional.

Jo raised her eyebrows at him, and Mac laughed.

"I should have known it wouldn't take you long to ask. On your first day, when you told me about our victim's dating habits based on the smell of her perfume, I expected you'd quickly immerse yourself in the lab's social scene..."

"Which you, of course, would prefer not exist, Mr. Stoic," she said with a mock serious face.

"Hah, hah," Mac said with a roll of his eyes. "Am I that obvious? That much of a hardass? It's not that I don't want people in the lab to be friends; I just don't want it distracting them from their work."

"I'm just teasing you, Mac. You're a great boss, and you've earned the respect of everyone in that lab," Jo said. "But back to the original question... anyone?"

"You're relentless," Mac sighed, before continuing as they walked down the sidewalk toward the subway station entrance. "There have been a few. I was... how do I say this? Slow to start dating again. It took me a few years to even take my wedding ring off for the first time. Stella, who would have loved you and vice versa, was a big help. She pushed me, hard."

"Anyone serious?" Jo inquired, hoping she wasn't pushing it but encouraged by Mac's previously-expressed appreciation for tough women.

"One," Mac said, looking up toward the sky. "And one I thought could have been."

"Well that's good, Mac," she said, leaning into him at bit as if to emphasize that she was addressing him.

Mac just smiled and kept walking.

"Are you headed my direction?" Jo asked as they reached the subway stairs.

"I am," Mac nodded. "But I think I'll walk."

"You sure?" Jo asked.

"I am. Have a good night, Jo. Thanks for the talk," he said, disentangling his arm from hers.

"Anytime, Mac," she said, descending the first step.

As he began to walk away, Jo called to him once more, "Mac! Ellie's game is at 9 am tomorrow. Any chance you'd want to join me? I could use another imposing presence on the sideline."

Mac thought for a moment. "Well, sure," he said. "Are you sure she won't be embarrassed, though?"

"That's the point, silly!" Jo laughed. "If I'm not there to embarrass her, no one ever will. Plus, she's really good; she needs someone to bring her back down to earth, or her head will never fit through another doorway."

"I'm sure all the other soccer moms bow down before you in awe of your cheering skills," Mac said dryly. "I'll be there just to see those."

"Great!" Jo exclaimed, clapping her hands together. "Ellie will be so excited to have someone besides me or Tyler watching her play. Maybe she'll be inspired and get a hat trick or something."

"I have no idea what that means," Mac said.

"Oh, so much to learn, Mac Taylor! A hat trick is three goals by the same player in one game. You'll learn the rest on Saturday. Kick-off's at 9 sharp. She plays on field three in Riverside Park, so use the 72nd street entrance."

"I'll be there, pom-poms and all."

Jo rolled her eyes. "See ya then, Mac."

With that, she was bounding down the steps; and Mac was left standing on the sidewalk, feeling both elated and confused.


	2. Kicking Butt, Taking Names

"Hustle, hustle, hustle!" Jo yelled from the sideline. The toe of her Tom's shoe was just at the white of the field boundary and her face was beginning to turn red from the exertion.

Twenty minutes into the game and Mac had a new appreciation for what it took to be a soccer mom. You had to yell louder, stomp harder and clap more determinedly than all the other women out there. It was a tough job. So far, Jo was taking the cake for most intense, and it was working. Ellie's team was up 1-to-nothing, and Ellie had the assist for the goal. Currently, she was chasing another girl on a fast break, catching up to her just as Mac turned his eyes from Jo and back to the action on the field.

Jo continued to yell as Ellie kicked the ball away from her opponent, turned it and headed back up the field, passing it along the way with another girl who was equally skilled. As the keeper came out towards Ellie's teammate, she passed the ball to Ellie, who shot it as hard as her foot would allow and watched the ball sail into the goal, pushing the net backwards with its sheer force.

"Yesss!" Jo hissed, turning to Mac with her hands held high, waiting for a high-five.

Mac indulged her, grinning at her exuberance, before giving a sharp whistle of his own. Jo yelled, Mac clapped and Ellie did her best to pretend she couldn't hear them. The game continued as such, though it ended with Ellie one goal short of a hat trick. Still, her team took home a victory; 4-to-2 with the promise that they were headed to the playoffs.

"Girrrl," Jo howled, arms wide open, as Ellie jogged off the field towards her mother. "You were awesome," she said, punctuating every word.

"Thanks, mom," Ellie said, leaning in to hug Jo. Over her mom's shoulder, she looked at Mac and said, "Thanks for coming to watch me play, Detective Taylor. I can't believe you stood over here with my crazy mother the whole time."

Mac chuckled and said, "Well, I am nearly deaf in one ear, but it was worth it."

Jo released Ellie and turned to smack Mac on the arm.

"Oh hush!" she exclaimed. "You loved it. I saw you over there clapping. And how about that whistle thing, Ellie? I'm going to have to get Mac to teach me that!"

Ellie rolled her eyes. "Please don't," she mockingly pleaded with Mac.

"Even if I could, I wouldn't," Mac reassured her. "That whistle is an old Taylor family tradition. My dad used to bring it out at all of my baseball games."

"Oh Mac, you're no fun; but thanks for that mental image of little Mac Taylor rounding third with his dad whistling him all the way home."

Mac smirked and turned back to Ellie. "You did a great job. You really did; I'm impressed. Can I take you and your mom out for a celebratory lunch?"

Ellie looked to Jo who offered a slight nod. "Sure!" Ellie said enthusiastically. "I have to go get my stuff and check in with coach, but then I'll be ready; and I could really use a milkshake, so you just think about where you want to take me."

She skipped off just as Jo was saying, "See what I told you – two goals and she's queen of the world. But thank you for offering to take us to lunch; that was sweet, Mac."

"What's a win without a free lunch?"

"Is that another Taylor family tradition? Because if it is, I think I would have liked the Taylor family very much," Jo explained, leading Mac toward where Ellie was changing out of her cleats.

"It _is_ a Taylor family tradition," Mac explained. "Every time I won a baseball game, my dad would take mom and I to the diner. I don't think it actually had a name. If it did, we just called it the diner, anyway."

"That's a sweet memory, Mac. I was a cheerleader, so the football players, not my parents, took me out," she said with a wink.

Mac rolled his eyes but smiled widely at her with a small chuckle under his breath.

Ellie had slipped into her sneakers by the time Mac and Jo made it over to her. Jo pulled her up off the ground while Mac wordlessly picked up her bag to carry it for her. Jo put her arm around Ellie, giving Mac a smile of gratitude.

"So, how about Shake Shack?" Mac proposed.

"Ooooh, yes!" Jo and Ellie exclaimed simultaneously.

"Sounds like we have a winner," Mac laughed. "I don't know who takes after who – like mother like daughter, or like daughter like mother."

"I taught her everything she knows," Jo said matter-of-factly. Then, with a laugh, she added, "Well, everything related to eating good junk food, laying on the Southern charm and kicking butt at everything she does."

"Mommm," Ellie groaned good-naturedly. "Please."

Mac held up a hand and said, "Ellie, I gotta tell you – your mom is pretty tough. She kicks some serious butt, to use her words."

"Because Mac Taylor doesn't say butt," Jo interrupted with a giggle.

Mac smirked but continued, "She walks into that interrogation room with her Southern charm and softens up those New York criminals before whipping out Jo-the-former-FBI-agent-turned-CSI, and they all crumble. And on top of that, I must say that her penchant for juicy burgers and the like is unparalleled at the lab."

"Why thank you, thank you," Jo smiled, offering two little curtsies.

"Detective Taylor, not to be rude, but you might be just as weird as she is," Ellie said, one eyebrow raised.

Before Jo and Mac could get a word in to defend themselves, Ellie saw one of her teammates beckoning to her across the parking lot.

"Oh! Mom – Becca has new shoelaces for us all. She said they're really cool and tie-dyed. I'm gonna go get them from her," Ellie explained, already jogging away from where Jo and Mac had stopped at the edge of the asphalt.

"We'll wait here," Jo called after her, before turning to Mac. "I tell you, the girl moves a mile-a-minute."

"Just like her mom," Mac said.

Jo propped her sunglasses on her head and shielded her eyes to look at Mac. There were questions there, but Mac couldn't decipher them.

So he continued, "It's a good thing. And I meant what I said – you do kick butt."

Jo grinned. "Secretly you like saying that and you know it," she teased. "And admit it, you benefit from my love of good food."

"Guilty as charged," Mac conceded. "Shall we go get some?"


	3. Mac and Cheese

Jo closed the folder in front of her, the last of five that required her review. She loved this job; but just like back at the Bureau, she could do without the paperwork. She considered cleaning up her desk, but only for a moment. Surely there were more important things to do than clean up a silly old desk.

Standing up, she dropped the files onto another pile, one that she was at least 98 percent certain was designated for completed paperwork. They were her designations, so who cared, right? She could see the look on Mac's face now, were he to ever be privy to her unique filing system.

"Or lack thereof," she chuckled under her breath.

Turning, she rolled her neck and caught a glance at the aforementioned detective out of the corner of her eye. He was intently reading the file before him.

'Or maybe he just stares at them without actually reading but likes to keep us on edge with that Taylor intensity,' Jo mused in her mind. "Oh Jo, that's just silly," she thought out loud.

She shook her head at the notion of talking to herself in her office, though she was quite certain it wouldn't surprise anyone in the lab. Turning her gaze back to Mac, she thought back to lunch on Saturday.

It had been fun. Ellie seemed to enjoy Mac's presence, especially when he regaled her with tales of Jo in CSI-mode. Mention of Jo's careful dissection of a victim's personality by Mac was confirmed by Ellie's description of the stories she and her mom would make up about strangers; and Mac's chuckling over Jo's neon post-it note collection brought on Ellie's squeal of delight: "You should see our fridge!"

"I guess it turns out that CSI Danville isn't all that different from Jo the mom," Mac had said when the stories had all been told and their laughter had died down.

"Finally, a statement I don't have to defend myself against," Jo had sighed dramatically.

The food had been good, too. Still, the trio's separation became imminent as the lunch hour drew to a close. Ellie politely thanked Mac for coming to her game and treating them to lunch, which he had done despite Jo's protests; Mac said he hoped to come to another match sometime soon. Jo bid Mac goodbye until Monday, and he saw the pair to the steps of the uptown train before heading off in the direction of a downtown train.

Jo looked up upon hearing a tap on her glass door.

"Hey Lindsay," she said with a smile. "Got something for me?"

"The Miller file," Lindsay acknowledged, handing a manila folder to Jo. "Pretty cut and dry... You okay?"

"Me?" Jo asked with a bit of surprise.

"Yeah," Lindsay laughed. "You looked like you were on another planet until I knocked."

"Oh yes, I'm great. Just all googly-eyed from too much paperwork, I suppose."

"Ok good. Well, I'm headed out. I'll see you tomorrow, Jo. Have a good night."

"You, too, Lindsay," Jo said as Lindsay turned to leave.

As she gathered her things, Jo's thoughts wandered back to Mac.

'He's not really my type,' she thought. 'Oh, Jo! Why are you even thinking about that? That's so ridiculous.'

She indulged herself nonetheless, thinking back to his chivalry, his rapport with Ellie, his laughter. Mac Taylor was unlike anyone she'd ever met before. Sure, parts of him were common within the law enforcement field, particularly in higher ranks, - intensity, stoicism, a fierce pursuit of justice. But there were other parts of him that she was beginning to see, parts that stood out, parts that she didn't think he allowed many people to see. Maybe...

Jo shook her head, grabbed her messenger bag and headed out of her office toward Mac's.

"You headed out," he asked without looking up as she came to stop in his doorway.

"How do you do that?" she questioned, hand on her hip. Mac looked up. " You always know I'm coming!" Jo laughed, as she took a few steps into his office. "I can never sneak up on you."

"Well, I am a detective," he deadpanned.

"What a line..." Jo smirked. "I'm leaving for the night. I trust you are, too, at some point."

Mac looked back and forth between Jo and the pile of paperwork on his desk; "Those aren't going to sign themselves, but I'll get out of here at some point."

"Maaaac," Jo drawled. "Come on. It's only Monday; you have all week to do them."

Mac chuckled, "But the pile will be even bigger tomorrow. Besides, what else am I going to do on a Monday night?"

"Well," Jo smiled, "I can think of one thing..."

Mac looked at her as if to say, "Go on."

"It's baked mac-and-cheese night at the Danville household. Even Tyler comes home for that." Jo held up her hand. "Before you object, they'd love to have you. Ellie cannot stop talking about how much fun she had with you on Saturday; she just thinks you're so funny. Don't worry, I won't tell anyone here."

Jo looked expectantly at Mac who replied, "I don't know, Jo. There's a lot in this pile."

"Tell you what – bring them with you. You're not allowed to work at the kitchen table in my house, but surely the couch and a nice glass of wine are better than this fishbowl."

Mac thought for a moment, put down his pen with a smile and said, "Alright, you've won me over; but only because mac-and-cheese was my favorite dish as a kid."

Jo grinned as Mac stood and gathered his files. Walking around his desk he held the door open for Jo, who stepped out of the office before him. As they were walking toward the elevator she turned to him with a grin, "Mac and cheese was your favorite, huh? Is that because it's got your name in it?"


	4. Catalytic Equations

"Detective Taylor," Ellie said softly.

"What's up, Ellie?" Mac asked, looking up from his paperwork, which was strewn about on Jo's coffee table.

"I'm working on my chemistry homework, but I'm stuck. Can you help me with something?"

"I thought you'd never ask," Mac said with a smile, standing and walking over to the table where Ellie was sitting. "Your mom's not going to be mad if I help you instead of her, is she?" he jokingly asked.

Ellie laughed; "I think she'll get over it."

She pointed to the problem before her and watched as Mac nodded before beginning an explanation. She was working on a catalytic equation, a fairly basic one. It would have been simple for a seasoned chemist, but Mac could see why she'd requested his assistance.

"These were never my favorite," Mac said, as Ellie finished the last conversion.

Ellie looked at Mac with surprise. "But you run the lab!"

"I do," Mac nodded, before bending down to whisper, "But I'm better at chasing the criminals and putting them in jail."

Ellie began laughing loudly just as Jo walked back into the apartment, having just returned from taking Tyler back to campus.

"What's all this?" Jo said in mock sternness, hand on her hip. "You, sir, are supposed to be working. And you, mademoiselle, are supposed to be doing your chemistry homework."

Mac saluted as Ellie's laughter grew louder.

"I just can't leave you two alone, can I?" Jo smiled, before heading into the kitchen to finish cleaning up.

-

Chemistry homework finished and double-checked by Mac, Ellie headed up to her room to read before bedtime, leaving Mac and Jo to themselves in the living room. Jo joined Mac with a glass of wine, pushing out of her mind the strange feeling of having her boss in such an informal setting. Or at least trying to push it out of her mind, which seemed set on playing tricks with her. Maybe that was her heart...

Mac cleared his throat, snapping Jo out of her reverie.

He chuckled: "Where'd you go?"

"Oh. I was just thinkin'," Jo answered, hoping the heat she felt in her cheeks wasn't turning to the signature blush that Ellie always said was her mom's only tell.

Mac looked at her, skepticism written all over his face, but decided to let it go. He'd learned long ago that women like Jo - women like Claire - would talk when they were ready and not a moment earlier.

"Thanks for helping Ellie with that homework," Jo said, with a smile. "I'm sure she appreciates your genius."

Mac rolled his eyes and said, "I let her in on my little secret."

"And what might that be?" Jo questioned.

Mac looked to his left and right, as if to make sure no one else would hear him, and said in a low voice, "I'd rather chase the bad guys than do chemistry."

Jo let out a burst of laughter and rolled her eyes. "Mac... that's no secret!"

Mac feigned shock and exclaimed in whisper, "You mean they're on to me?"

Jo gave him a smack on the arm. "We've all seen you chase suspects into alleys with abandon," she began. "And we've seen you hunch over a microscope. It's pretty clear which one you enjoy more. Your 'I'm-Mac-Taylor-and-no-one-can-stop-my-pursuit-of-justice' face only comes out when your feet are on the ground, not when you're doing all the other stuff."

"I have a face that says all that?" Mac asked incredulously.

"Are you kidding me?" Jo chuckled. "Yes, yes you certainly do."

Mac looked skeptical, so Jo continued: "You get all serious, your eyes darken, you look like you could strangle someone with your bare hands. The muscles of your jaw clench and your eyebrows come in toward each other just a little bit, as if you were staring someone down. That, sir, is the definition of a furrowed brow. Sometimes your fists go tight until you're white-knuckled. Shall I go on?"

"No, no. I get it," Mac said, nodding. "How do you see all this?"

Jo smiled softly, "Mac, I'm a trained investigator. Plus, in order to work with you, I needed to learn when to stay out of the way, and I knew you wouldn't actually tell me, so I watched and learned."

"Wow. I'm impressed, Jo Danville."

"Thank you, thank you," she said bringing her hand to her abdomen and bowing with her torso.

"So, I really am a hard-ass?" Mac asked, looking toward Jo with an eyebrow raised and a slight smirk.

"No way," Jo shook her head as she answered. "On the outside, maybe. But I know you're just a big softy on the inside."

Mac chuckled: "You really are on to me. Just don't tell anyone else."

"Don't worry; it's our secret," Jo whispered with a wink.

Leaning back into the plush pillows of the couch, they sipped at their wine in silence. The extrovert in Jo was working very hard to keep its mouth shut, and even though her tolerance for silence was low, she was doing a fair job. Mac seemed to be comfortable with just enjoying each others' presence, and she didn't want to ruin that by running her mouth incessantly. Still, it was awfully quiet; should she think of something to say? Turn on some music? Offer to help with his paperwork?

Mac, on the other hand, was dying to say something, anything, but he felt like his tongue was stuck to the roof of his mouth.


End file.
